New Orleans under tornado and flash-flood watches until 3 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a flash-flood warning and two other severe-weather alerts for the New Orleans area on Saturday.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning, a tornado watch and a flash-flood watch for Southeast Louisiana and parts of Mississippi.

Severe thunderstorms were moving through the Bogalusa area just after noon and meteorologists detected damaging winds in excess of 60 miles per hour and a line of thunderstorms west of Bogalusa capable of producting quarter-size hail.

National Weather Service has issued several a few different severe thunderstorm warnings on Saturday. The latest, which is in effect until 1 p.m. include northern St. Tammany Parish, southeastern Washington Parish as well as the city of Bogalusa and Hancock and Pearl River counties in southern Mississippi. Other than hail, the primary threats from the thunderstorms are expected to be strong, damaging winds and a few tornadoes.

The tornado watch lasts until 3 p.m. today; the flash-flood watch is in effect until at least 6 p.m.

The tornado watch includes 17 Louisiana parishes including the eight metro-area parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Tammany. But the watch extends beyond the metro area to Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne and West Baton Rouge.

It also affects three counties in Mississippi: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson.

A tornado watch is issued when conditions are right for a tornado to form. But it does not mean that tornadoes have been sighted, only that, given the current conditions, a tornado may develop.

The flash-flood watch covers all of Southeast Louisiana and Southern Missisippi. There is a 100 percent chance of showers and storms through late afternoon and the heavy rains totaling 3 to 5 inches could cause street flooding. Depending on rainfall levels, the flash-flood watch may be extended.

Sunday will dawn cloudy, then clear. The day will be windy and cooler, with highs in the low-60s and lows in the mid-40s on Sunday night. The Monday forecast calls for partly cloudly skies with highs staying in the low-60s.

At this point, Carnival day is predicted to be cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers with highs around 70 degrees.